#7, Finland. Slightly lower placement than on average in this decade.
What's interesting about native and non-native languages is that they exist in different parts of the brain. Different networks are responsible for them. A friend of mine is married to a nurse who used to work at a care home for the elderly. Some of the patients had dementia and had lost their native tongue as a result. But a number of those people still had access to a foreign language they had learned. It was usually English and my friend's wife was able to communicate in that language with those patients.
Yes, each language has it's own little place in the brain - if you're raised bilingual the ability to create 'perfect separation' per language is bigger than if you learn one language and then a second language at school - which is why exposing a child very very early to a second language gives them an advantage over others learning a (little) later. (Not just in languages, raising a kid bilingual gives them extra white matter which is linked to educational and work success in later life).
Being bilingual also prevents against dementia/Alzheimer in general - pretty epic right?
Very interesting story about the nurse - must be so weird for the family to not be able to communicate in their native language with a person anymore, but the second language is still pretty much alive!
The brain is a fascinating thing - I've never regretted studying psychology, would do it again if I ever get the chance.
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Thats incredible.. losing your native tongue but still retaining another language? The mind is remarkable.
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Not particularly if you keep in mind that they exist in different areas of the cortex. If a disease or trauma damages one, the other can remain intact.
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Ha, from that perspective it isn't amazing at all, I suppose! But even the fact of this is amazing to me.
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Extraordinary!
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